The Economics of European Integration

As economic integration touches ever more areas of society, more and more people are confronted by the bewildering complexity of the functioning of the European Union. Rather than merely focusing on the description of EU policies, this study of the economics of European integration seeks to: select the most relevant aspects and developments; place the wide variety of issues in a robust conceptual structure; integrate theoretical developments with the results of empirical research and of policy analysis; explain the logic of the dynamic processes; describe the structural features of the European economy; highlight the response of private companies to changes in the regulatory environment; depict the "historical" developments so as to give a sound basis for the understanding of the present situation and the likely future development; and set the European developments in the light of global developments. In practice Western Europe is the focus of major parts of this book.